Serve's Up! (A Haikyuu!! Fanfic)

Drifting Sand | Chapter 1 | Tsukishima

"Tsukki! Wait up, Tsukki!"

His voice calling up to me is probably the only thing that can cause me to look back and take off my headphones. "You're slow, Yamaguchi." I say as I wait for him to catch up to me.

As usual he gives me that innocent smile of his and slows down his pace as soon as he reaches me. "Sorry. You hurried out the door before I could catch up..." He looks up as he thinks- finger on his chin. "Come to think of it weren't you the one who invited me? So why did you hurry on ahead knowing I wasn't ready yet?"

I sling my hands into my pockets. "If I had to wait on you all day we'd never get anywhere. You care too much about your appearance."

"S-Shut up! I do not!" He rebelliously argues back, though it's little more than a child's cry.

It always makes my smile seeing the way his little nose cringes whenever he gets angry. I can't help but chuckle a bit as I see his pouty face appear as well as soon as he notices my amusement. "You do. There are better ways to make someone notice you, you know."

His cheeks grow red and he attempts to hide them with his hands. Obviously, because of his awkwardness, he fails miserably. "N-No! That's not it at all!"

I always did wonder if Yamaguchi ever really had a crush on anyone. The way he's being so embarrassed suggests he does, but he's the awkward type who would never admit it unless he was for sure the other would return his feelings. It's probably a touchy subject, so I'll let it slide for now. "I think this is far enough."

He looks around in confusion. We are standing in the local park- kids playing in the background. "Far enough for what?"

I slide my glasses further up into my nose as I attempt to hide the slight pain in my eyes. I'm his idol. He looks up to me to be calm and collected. How can he ever hope to be cool while someone like me is desperately failing? "Far enough to say goodbye."

"I don't understand..." His eyes are set dead on me, and for once in my life I wish they weren't. I don't want to be looked up to right now.

"Yamaguchi..." In order to insure that I don't lose my composure I take a step behind him and put a hand on his shoulder to make sure he doesn't turn around. "Times like these I need you to be strong for me. Strong and patient."

"I don't want to..." He rebels- grabbing a hold of my arm in a desperate hug of affection. "Why do you have to say goodbye? Where are you going? How long do I have to wait to see you again? I don't understand any of this!"

"You never were very cool under pressure, were you?" I ask him- a sly smile on my face.

In retort he slaps my arm- though it is with little force. He never could bring himself to hurt me- though he does manage to be able to raise his voice at me when I need it most. "This is no time for jokes, Tsukki! This is serious! If you're going to just say goodbye out of the blue, then at least explain yourself!"

"Or what?" I ask with a sigh. "You'll hold on and never let go?"

"W-Well..." He looks down. "I'd do that anyway, but... But I need to know why I'm holding on and if it's okay to let go..."

For some reason I couldn't help but chuckle. "You act like I'm breaking up with you, or something."

"Because you are!" Yamaguchi glares up at me. "You're about to let a lifetime friendship go down the drain because you're not explaining yourself!"

Instantly my hands go up in the air in defense and his glare softens to his normal features. "If it will put your mind at ease then I'll tell you, however there will be no crying like a baby. You don't want all those little kids over there to see you cry, would you?"

Yamaguchi pouts- finally able to let go of my arm as he gets the answer he desired. "You picked this place on purpose so I wouldn't get emotional- didn't you?"

Actually, I picked this place so I wouldn't get emotional. I couldn't let Yamaguchi see me acting uncool or he'd probably never follow me again. What a stupid fear I have... "Would you rather I have found an alone spot for us both to cry our hearts out?"

"J-Just get to the point!" He rushes me- agitated as he crosses his arms over his chest.

"My brother cannot afford to pay for our parents' house anymore after their deaths, so we're going to have to move out soon." I begin, my voice clear, concise, and informative. No hints of emotion whatsoever. "We'll be moving to an apartment out of town as soon as we get enough money to do so. We'll both be working part time to do so, so I probably won't see you around much until then."

Suddenly, instead of being super depressed about it, his eyes seemed to spark with an unparalleled confidence as he sprouted a brilliant idea. "Why don't you guys just live at my place?"

I blink- the thought of that completely escaping my brain. "That's completely absurd. Putting a widow such as your mother through such stress is out of the question."

"Tsukki, it's not as if you'd be intruding, and you won't be a stress factor at all!" He attempts to reason with me. "My mom thinks of you as a son already, and would love to have your brother around as well, so it's not a problem!"

"We'd bring extra chaos and cost too much money to care for- not to mention the space. There's no-"

Before I can finish the statement he's already detracting my statements with examples of his own. "My mother's been rather lonely, so I know she'd welcome you both with welcoming arms. If you feel bad about the money, then you can both work to pay a sort of fee to her, though I know she'd work hard enough so that you don't have to. As for space we have two extra rooms where my older brothers moved out already. So you don't have any arguments!"

I open my mouth, but then I close it again. "I suppose I'll talk to my brother about it..."

Yamaguchi grins in victory as he puts both hands on his hips. "See? You don't have to leave, after all!"

"Are you sure this is okay?" I ask him.

"Of course!" He beams. "As a matter of fact let's go over there right now and talk to her. I'm sure she'd love the visit from you!"

Before I know it my arm is in his grasp and he's leading me back to his place without even a second thought in his mind. I suppose he's always been sort of one track minded- never straying from his same path whenever he's determined. He looks like an idiot the way he's grinning so widely, but I suppose I like him better this way. Yamaguchi always looks cooler when he beams with confidence.